NOSTALGY FOR............IWC POCKET WATCHES.

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This week the contribution is from Hans-Georg Aberle :It is about "Schützenuhren", pocket watches that were issued for "Schützenfeste" (shooting contests) in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. This tradition goes back to the middle ages. H-G :" I own 6 Schützenuhren : Frauenfeld 1890, Zürich, Frauenfeld 1935, Luzern, Chur and Winterthur. I have decided to show the watches from Frauenfeld 1890 and the Winterthur Watch 1990, as there is exactly a hundred of years between them. The first IWC Schützenuhr was build in 1890, the last one (Thun) in 1995.......

......Every Swiss pocket watch manufacturer has build Schützenuhren. These were limited editions, often with heavily decorated silver cases, although some have been made in gold. Almost all were open P.W.'s (Lépine) but the very last ones ( Chur, Winterthur and Thun) were hunters ( Savonettes). The movement of the first IWC Schützenuhr was cal. 52 1. quality( which is not quality extra). The back side shows the Swiss cross with the armour of Thurgau and the motto : "One For All ....All For One" ( not clearly visible o this example). A century later the Wintrthur watch shows the city's armour and the tower of the city church. The movement is cal. 982....

......Here is a list of all Schützenuhren built in a period of 105 years , by IWC. "S" is Switzerland, "A" is Austria, "G" is Germany.Kind regards,H-G Aberle,R. BirkenkämperT. König,A v d Meijden,(alwaysiwc).

Hi Adrian, thanks for this. I am always keen to know the origin and meaning of the engravings on PWs, and this makes for very interesting heritage.

I can see the pics fine from an android droid/milestone phone - increasing the picture size on my screen showed the pics clearly without blurring them.

Thanks for this series contribution.

Regards, Shing | email iwcforme1976 (at) gmail (dot) comtime does not change us. it just unfolds us. max frisch.all that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that. baltasar gracian.

Small image, large image... I almost don't care because the quality level of you & your fellow contributors is undisputed! I love to read them and always learn a lot of new facts and fascinating insights.

Hi Andrew,For sure this information can be retrieved from the IWC Archives, but I do not have this information. Often such watch was the first prize for the winner of a shooting competition and I guess few have been made. However, the modern Schützenuhren were made as limited editions and could be purchased by any customer. For instance the golden Schützenuhr from Chur in 1985 was produced in a series of 100 watches and its price was 11.000 Swiss Francs. The Schützenuhr from Wintherthur 1990 was made in a series of 100 watches in gold and 100 in silver. Prices were 12.500 and 5.500 Swiss Francs, respectively.Kind regards,Adrian,(alwaysiwc).

Thanks --a little belatedly, given my travels-- for this contribution. As some know, Schützenuhren are a favorite of mine, and I also collect IWC Schützenuhren, but only the early ones.

One of my "latest" is from the 1912 Schützenfest in St. Gallen, and I thought I'd show it here:

This example is a bit more worn than I like, but at least someone was proud enough to constantly polish this watch. To my knowledge, the early ones were all prizes, but the later ones could be purchased as well.

Also, I should mention that watches were awarded as prizes for events other then shooting competitions. For example, there was an athletic competition called a Turnfest, and there also are Turnfestuhren. I have IWC one from the 1890s, when the competition was held in Schaffhausen.